Ellen Singer and Gary Rondeau

Avid cyclists and year-round bike commuters Ellen Singer and Gary Rondeau will pedal in style at Burning Man on their wood-frame DateTrike, a side-by-side two-seater, built for romance. “Ellen came up with the idea,” says Rondeau. “I did the design and construction.” Brooklyn native Singer studied and practiced law in the Bay Area before moving her practice to Eugene in 1992. Rondeau studied engineering until a research job at Cornell turned into a Ph.D. in physics. He moved to Eugene and co-founded the firm Applied Scientific Instrumentation. Both Singer and Rondeau were married to other people when they arrived and divorced soon after. They met by way of Singer’s 1995 EW singles ad, reading “This Fish Needs a Bicycle.” They’ve been together ever since. Singer is a longtime community volunteer who mentors young kids and law school students. The couple hosts international students for a week at the beginning of each UO term. A beekeeper since his childhood in northern Minnesota, Rondeau is among the founders of Oregon Sustainable Beekeepers. “We’re trying to do something about pesticides,” he says. Learn about the newest research on bees and pesticides, sign a petition to Bi-Mart and Jerry’s and find detailed plans for building your own DateTrike on Rondeau’s blog, squashpractice.wordpress.com.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!